Program:
Master of Science in Business Analytics & Student Executive Committee Member 2018
Student Name:
Joshua Larky
Graduating Class:
Class of 2018
Undergraduate Alma Mater:
University of Redlands, BS in Economics
About Joshua:
I strive to explore all areas of life that interest me, and have a very diverse range of activities and hobbies I like to partake in. I am an avid rock climber, who enjoys anything that’s either outdoors, physically strenuous, or both. I play online chess, love Legos, and am a very well-versed cook. I am an extroverted introvert and a numbers nerd. Humor is important to keeping us all sane, and I can tell a good joke (or two).
Proudest Accomplishment:
My senior honors thesis was two years in the making, and I’m proud of my grit and my ability to continue working on a project, year-round. I always wanted to conduct research in a way that had never been done before, and my project was new territory for the baseball and economics community. I studied baseball team valuations, revenues, and attendance, and how these metrics moved with the national and local economies of the past 15 years. My paper provided evidence for Major League Baseball’s economic resilience during the recent great recession. Presenting to my economics committee, family, and friends was a great experience, and will always be my fondest academic memory from college.
Why did you choose the MSBA Program?
I have been fascinated with sports statistics ever since I can remember, memorizing the statistics on the backs of baseball cards as a child. While my passion for baseball cards has since tapered off, my love for sports and competition never wavered, and I now hope to pursue a career in sports analytics. The Business Analytics program at McCombs seemed to be the best fit for making this dream a reality, exposing me to all the skills necessary to succeed in the industry (R, Python, SQL). Also, I was born in Austin (but moved to San Diego at 13 months old), so coming to UT is kind of like discovering the roots I never had the chance to previously explore.
What are you most looking forward to in your program?
I’m excited for all the professional opportunities that this program will expose me to. Applying to jobs and networking while in college was a daunting and intimidating task. Working on my professional strategy in this environment will build my confidence, and I’m interested to learn about all the interesting analytics careers that I currently don’t know exist. Oh, and the predictive modeling classes. I’m looking forward to those, too!
More on Texas MS Student Spotlight:
Texas MS #StudentSpotlight is a new feature showcasing the talent, background, and aspirations of the McCombs Master of Science Program students! Learn more about the Texas Master of Science in Business Analytics on our homepage.
Current Texas MS students interested in appearing in our student spotlight should contact their Program Coordinator regarding access to the Student Spotlight Survey.